Two-thirds of Brits not interested in royal wedding: poll

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LONDON (Reuters) - A global audience will be watching when Prince Harry weds his U.S. fiancee Meghan Markle on Saturday, but most Britons don’t care much, a YouGov poll said on Monday.

Britain's Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle arrive at a service at St Martin-in-The Fields to mark 25 years since Stephen Lawrence was killed in a racially motivated attack, in London, Britain, April 23, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls

The poll, commissioned by anti-monarchist pressure group Republic, found that 66 percent of Britons are not interested in the event, with 60 percent of Britons planning to have a normal weekend.

Harry and Markle are set to marry at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle with more than 5,000 media staff and around 100,000 well-wishers expected to descend on the market town.

The poll by polling firm YouGov showed that 57 percent of respondents believed the royal family should pay not only for the wedding but also for the costs of police.

An opinion poll published last week showed that most Britons are in favor of the monarchy continuing in Britain.

And another poll by polling firm ComRes found 58 percent of respondents thought the royal wedding and the recent birth of Prince Louis to Prince William and his wife Kate were events of which Britain could be proud, although support was more pronounced among older people.

The YouGov survey suggested that the popularity of the royal family is contingent on the personalities of its members. While 60 percent of respondents say they like Queen Elizabeth, her son Charles is far less popular.

Nearly half of respondents would prefer “someone else” to succeed the Queen, while only 37 percent want Charles, who is the father of Harry and his older brother William.

“This YouGov poll shows a very clear picture of a nation disinterested and apathetic about the royal family,” Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, said.

“We’re not a nation of republicans yet - but we’ve stopped being a nation of royalists.”

Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by William Schomberg and Michael Holden